The Spirit of Gods
by hazardous
Summary: Chihiro is a noble who loves life. She one day discovers a secret about a river that she so longs to keep, but as she falls for a god, things don't go as planned. Especially since she's gonna be betrothed soon...
1. Myths and Legends

Hey! This is my first ever non-Harry Potter fic! But I couldn't resist! After seeing Spirited Away, I was like "Dude, the ending sucked!" So now, I'm gonna create little versions on what happens or happened in my dastardly little brain. I might even change some stuff.

Lol.

Disclaimer: Listen up! Cuz' it's gonna be the only disclaimer in here! The characters in here are not my property or idea. They belong to…I dunno. But—but they don't belong to me! That's for sure.

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Chapter 1-

**P.S. This is all in Chihiro's POV. Get used to it. **

"Come on Miss!" a voice shouted.

I turned around, unwillingly. Why must every night be like this? It was always the same. Me, refusing to go down to dinner, them, always insisting and in the end, always having their way. What the hell is wrong with that idea?

I mean, don't get me wrong, but are servants supposed to boss a noble's daughter around? I hate my life. There's just something missing from it…ha! Adventure. Mom always told me that it was a childish dream, and that at the age of fifteen, thank you very much (my birthday just passed a month ago), I shouldn't be hanging on to such "wild dreams."

But it's not a wild dream. Not as much as a desire. Always being confined to this room, this ward, this maid, this house…gosh! I hated every minute of it. Outside I see all these little kids playing around in the mud—since when did I have such unlimited happiness? Sure, everyone wants to be where I am (except perhaps the princess, but she's a snot nosed little brat, so we won't talk about her now) because…why?

I'm rich? Sure I am, but even though my family is very wealthy, I'm not wealthy at all. Besides, even if I did have wealth, where would I go to spend it? My room? Surely not.

This is no better than a prison.

I do have loving parents, but they are too much—what's the word—_nobility_ for me. That's it, _nobility_. What a disgusting, dastardly word. It's always, "Oh how beautiful you are, how _noble_ of you."

To everyone, I am the perfect child. But far from it. In fact, I'm very far from it.

I'm to be betrothed soon in an arranged marriage of course, to (no doubt) Sir Hyumki. Again, don't get me wrong.

He's handsome, smart, witty, strong, but also at the same time repulsive, arrogant, strutty, and not at all what I'm looking for in a guy.

_What am I looking for?_

"I'm coming," I answered, lazily, in a sort of way. I pinned my last stand of hair on my head with a colorful, starred…pin. I'm not very big on vocabulary.

The door opened. I stood up in rage.

"Now what do you think you're doing? This is my _private_ chambers!" I declared angrily. "Oh, father," I said again, just as timidly as I did angrily. This was a surprise. My father was never there for me when I was a child. Why was he here now?

"Chihira," he said formally. I curtsied slightly, impatiently. "I have some news for you."

I inclined my head in dignity. "Oh yes? What news father?"

"Come with me, and we shall discuss it as we walk to dinner." He held up his arm expectantly. I, of course, took it, unwilling to disobey him.

Now, back to me and my thoughts. I'm not beautiful, not even close. Not like the princess, for she is a true beauty even though she is a snot nosed little brat. The one thing I prided myself on however, was having immaculate teeth. Yes, I know, I'm strange, but teeth are important.

My eyes are big and brown. No other words. My lips, full, pink. No other words. My ears, delicate. My nose, tiny. I really have nothing more to say on that matter.

Unlike the princess, who could go on babbling for hours about how gorgeous her gown was, or how beautiful and flawless she was.

Oh, sure, I'm clumsy while she's graceful. I stumble, while she walks with dignity. No offense to the princess, but who the hell cares?

If my parents heard what I'm thinking spoken out loud, they would no doubt refine me in an even tighter spot. My language is _appalling_.

I waited in delicate silence for my father to continue. "Yes?" I prompted.

"Why, yes, of course," he cleared his throat. "Well, Chihira, you are getting close to being married…"

Blah blah blah, who gives!

"…and your mother and I have decided that before you do, we wanted you to visit a nearby kingdom, Yumariu," he continued. After seeing my face he hurriedly said, "Don't worry sweetie. It'll just be for a while, just a summer," he said.

That dolt! I mean… father. How could anyone mistake a look of excitement for a look of worry? Oh my gosh! This is it! What I was waiting for!

An adventure at last.

-

"Oh bye Mother!" I waved to her through the window of the carriage. She was crying. I wenched my heart to know that I was happy leaving and she was suffering like this, but this would probably be my only chance to go on something like this.

She sniffled and waved back to me. My father was nowhere in sight. I leaned back and sight. _Like usual_.

The trip there was definitely long enough. A few hours, but I saw so many things on the way that it didn't seem long at all. But we slowed down when we got to this huge house! I mean, it was huge! It was more like a castle than a house.

Many people stared at us as we stopped by the gate and knocked. They whispered things. Screw them.

I mean—ahem, look how the nice people like us!

Yeah right. They're looking at us in bewilderment. But they should've known: anyone who rides in a carriage surely isn't just a civilian. Oh dear, I'm beginning to sound like the princess, with that big head of hers.

No, no, no, nice thoughts. She will be future queen after all.

I looked outside the carriage and gasped at what greeted my eyes. What a gorgeous river! It's so clear and blue and sparkly…oh! I have to go swimming sometime while I'm here. Wait…they might not allow women to go swimming here. Phooey.

"Halt!" I yelled in a clear voice. The driver of the carriage looked back at me as if asking 'What are you doing?' but I didn't care. I needed to admire the river before I got to the house…er…castle.

I leapt (literally) out of the carriage, ignoring some cries from my escorts. When I came to the river bend, I carefully took off my shoes and sat on a rock near the edge. Why is everyone staring at me like a lunatic? Isn't it natural for a noble to want to enjoy the water too?

Assholes.

I smacked myself. Not asshole. Not asshole. I smacked myself again. Not you-know-what, not you-know-what.

They are nice people, nice people.

I smiled brightly at them, and they smiled back hesitantly in return. Great.

There was no one here with me, no friends, no family, so I decided to sing to myself.

"_Fall away, to the edges of the world. _

_There was something more I'd know_

_And the water swirls in motion,_

_As the gods above create…"_

I paused. I think I forgot the rest. No matter. The river was so captivating. Absolutely beautiful.

"Do you like the river?"

I turned around to see an old man, around sixty. He had so many wrinkles on his face that it looked like cobwebs. I turned my gaze back to the river.

"Oh yes," I replied breathlessly. "It's gorgeous. Perfect. Flawless."

He chuckled. "Just like the god that lives in it."

God? I admit, this old man spiked my curiosity.

"What god?" I found myself asking. He just chuckled again.

"Legend has it that there's a god of this river. This is the Kohaku River. He's very powerful and forgiving, but also very severe. Anyone who damages it or angers him is not easily forgiven," the old man says. "But legend also says that he turns into a wonderous dragon when he likes and that he lives in the depths of this river."

"Is it true?" I asked. "The god?"

The old man laughed. I wish he would stop doing that. "I don't know missy. I've never looked."

He walked away and I stared after him. What a strange old man.

But enough of that. I still had somewhere I needed to be, so I got up off the rock, took a step, and…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

slipped into an eternity of water.

-

DONE! WITH CHAPTER ONE!

Don't worry, that was kinda short. But it'll get longer with…you're smart enough to figure that out.

Lol.

**_By the way, what's Haku's full name_**?

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	2. Faceless

Hey! What's up? Back to me now!

Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers

**Jing19920311:**

**Yes, I wrote another one. Spirited Away is such a great movie! It's really cute! You should see it! I encourage you to see it! Really! Rent it out from the library or something! Just see it!**

_Shamanbabe:_

_Yes! That helps a lot! Thanks!_

_**NigihayamiHaruko:**_

_**Omg…-That is long! Man! I'm never gonna be able to remember that! And yes, thanks for the advice! I've never done a Spirited Away fic before, only James/Lily in HP. **_

OceanicGoddess:

Why thank you! That flatters me so! Niagymi Kohaku Nushi. …Hmmm…have you ever noticed that Japanese names are hard to spell? Dude! And they're hard to remember as well!

Rays of sunlight:

I'm so happy you decided to read this story too! You're one of my most frequent reviewers for HP too! Yay! Have you actually seen Spirited Away? I mean, like, most people that read HP don't really like anime for some weird reason and that's just weird…yeah.

**KatzEye:**

**I know! I was going to make something more modern, but then I realized that that was what everyone else was going to d, and I just thought…nah!**

_Cat:_

_OMG! I can't believe I made that mistake! Thanx for pointing that out! Where do you find out all of their names and how to spell it and stuff anywayz? Ah well, I'll correct it later as I'm too lazy right now…_

No summary, but I will do a recap. K?

-

-

"_Legend has it that there's a god of this river. This is the Kohaku River. He's very powerful and forgiving, but also very severe. Anyone who damages it or angers him is not easily forgiven," the old man says. "But legend also says that he turns into a wondrous dragon when he likes and that he lives in the depths of this river."_

"_Is it true?" I asked. "The god?"_

_The old man laughed. I wish he would stop doing that. "I don't know missy. I've never looked."_

_He walked away and I stared after him. What a strange old man._

_But enough of that. I still had somewhere I needed to be, so I got up off the rock, took a step, and…_

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

_slipped into an eternity of water._

* * *

Chapter 2- 

I heard someone coughing, and my eyes fluttered open. Then I realized that it wasn't 'someone' coughing, it was me. Whoa! For a moment there, I blanked out. Hands immediately found its way to my forehead and wrist.

"Are you alright?" A rough voice cut into my train of thoughts…well not really, since I'm still thinking—I'm going off.

"Yes, I'm fine," I found myself replying in a hoarse voice. My throat was burning, I swear, parched and burning.

"SHE'S FINE!" said that annoying voice again. I blinked several times because the light was in my eyes, and found myself looking at a girl. A really pretty girl, mind you. She looked older than me and I thought she was one of the nobles that lived here, but then I saw her clothes. She was a maid.

I was always taught that maids were not worthy of us. Of nobles. We were not supposed to befriend them…they were merely there to serve us. They were born like that. I believed it at first, but then I stopped believing because obviously, like everything else my parents taught me, it was a big fat lie.

As I said before, I shouldn't be thinking such thoughts, but it was hard to restrain myself, especially when my thoughts are the only free thing about me.

Her eyes scrutinized me and looked me over. "You are okay, right?" she said, more as a statement.

I nodded, and just to show that I wasn't weak, tried to jump out of bed. Her hand pushed me back down. She was fast.

"Sit down gi—miss. You wouldn't want your delicateness to get the better of you," she said in an annoying fashion. I was outraged! Who the heck did she think she was?

"I am not delicate," I said hotheadedly through clenched teeth. If she were one of my maids, she'd be fired without a second thought. Wasn't it the first rule of servants to always treat their masters with respect? Whatever happened to that rule?

She nodded furiously. "Of course you're not. You just have a more tender body." She said that almost sarcastically. I was really beginning to dislike her.

"I am not tender either. Look at me," I commanded. No servant ever looked a master in the eyes. I wanted to know who she thought I was. "Who am I?"

She looked at me boldly. "You are a guest of my master, who fell in a lake (stupidly) and whom I have to take care of."

"Are you assigned to me?" I asked, almost cautiously.

The girl rolled her eyes at me, like I was dumb or something. I was definitely beginning to feel dumb by the way she was treating me. "Yes, or I wouldn't be here."

I nodded, satisfied. "Then since you are assigned to me, you shall not address me in such a way. I have been nothing but polite to you, and you have continually harassed me; you're master would be ashamed."

The girl blinked several times, and then grinned. "Yes marm!" she said, suddenly chipper. She was scaring the hell out of me. "Finally! There's someone he invited over that's better than the rest!"

"Huh?" Why does she make me feel so dumb! Arrggg….

"Never you mind. My name's Lin, and if you have any trouble, don't hesitate to call me. You don't know how many other guests have been invited here, and none of them could even look _me_ in the eye, which is really weird, ya know, since I'm a servant," she said rambling. I grinned hesitantly. She was loony!

"Anyways, some people brought you over here. They said you fell in the river or something," Lin continued. "You were lucky. If the spirit of the Kohaku wasn't as happy, you would've been drowned."

Spirit? Oh yeah…the crazy old man came to mind. Everyone seemed to be crazy around here.

"Is he truly a powerful god?" I asked, almost tentatively. Almost.

Her expression suddenly became serious. "Yes," she said in a harsh voice. "Don't underestimate a god. Especially _that_ god. The spirit of the Kohaku can do things to you in a second that would take other gods a day or so to do. Don't double cross him."

"Double cross?" I wrinkled my eyebrows. The girl laughed.

"That's only if you meet him, but none of us here have. They say some people have seen him; he's a gorgeous god, young, bold, radiant with power…yada yada yada. They keep babbling on—mainly imagination if you ask me. I just can't imagine a god being young," she said, helping me get dressed. "Most gods are old and look old, and the Kohaku River was there ever since I could remember."

"Hmmm…" I said, unable to think of anything else.

"Chihiro!" A woman gasped. Oh no…. "Oh my! How've you grown! You look so beautiful! Rival to the princess," she clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oops! Not supposed to say that!"

I strained a smile as she gave me a bone-breaking hug. Oh dear god, any god, save me…

"What, what is this?" She shrieked, pointing at my best dress. "How horrid! You must not wear that. You, servant! Get her a cleaner dress, one of Sakura's will do."

Lin, in a manner which I have not yet seen (until now), bowed low (very low) and exited.

"My dear," she looked at me in what seemed like an affectionate way. "You look ravishing! Are you cold? Oh, you must me! After falling into the Kohaku River! This great ordeal just to visit this wonderful kingdom. We must get you all cleaned up and rested!"

"For what?" I blurted out, without meaning to. The woman looked confused. She was obviously the mistress of the house.

"Why, for going to the castle tomorrow of course! You father specifically told us that he wanted the best, and that you were to visit the castle and see the royals…they will be so pleased! I've already heard that they ordered the best chef in town to cook for the lunch they'll be sharing with us."

Gee…great. I faked a simpering smile. "But of course! I look forward to it." The woman squealed (in a noble-y fashion, of course) and hugged me again.

"I know you will enjoy it. Her majesty was so pleased when he heard the news! The whole royal family was. I shall send that servant—"

"Lin," I corrected quietly.

"Of course!" She waved it off. "Lin! I shall send Lin to wake and dress you and prepare you for it. You shall be magnificent for this event. Am I understood?" She said to Lin in an almost threatening way.

Lin inclined her head gracefully. "Of course, madam."

She burst into a smile again. "Good good. Go on then, rest up! When tomorrow come…when tomorrow comes…" she paused, then laughed. "When tomorrow comes, it'll be tomorrow then!" And with that, she closed the door.

I am obviously not the only insane person here.

* * *

Uhh…I felt like I was falling head first into cement. My head hurt so much; the pain was almost unbearable. I almost went calling for Lin, but then I remembered that it was just about two in the morning, and that it was really rude to wake someone up for your own needs. I do not want to turn out like Mistress Nyumi. That's her name.

I lifted my aching body over to the washroom and thoroughly washed my hands. I quickly put on an over gown and went outside, clutching my head. If I spilled out my stomach contents, I would at least do it outside, so those maids wouldn't have to clean it up. After all, they are people too.

The cool breezes at night feel extremely good against my flushed skin. I could've sworn that I saw swarms of color darting in and out of the water near the Kohaku River. Even at night, it was so beautiful.

I, without knowing it, let out a breath, and continued my walk. My first day here sure was exciting. I seem to get in all sorts of trouble no matter where I am.

What was that?

I saw a shadow flow across the river and quickly ran behind a tree. What am I doing? I should be at the house…not here. At night. Alone. Without a guard…I'm screwed.

The water rose like a cocoon and wrapped itself up, forming a shape. I breathed in sharply and held my breath. A boy no older than stepped out.

I almost screamed, but when I took a closer look at him…

He had the most gorgeous green eyes, and the best chiseled face I had ever seen in my entire life. His beauty was almost…godly. He was wearing the finest of silk and he walked as though he glided, gracefully and purposely. No doubt a royal. The seriousness on his face was not meant for a young man.

I stepped back and a leaf beneath me crunched. He spun around and faced me, his cold eyes narrowing as he called out…

"_Chihiro_!"

* * *

Whoa…

That was a short chapter but hey! That's ok! Right? Right?

It might be a while until I update it again, so it was either that or a few more months. Yeah.

Anyways: **_What language do you find most fascinating?_**

FRENCH WEEK THIS WEEK!

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